3. Battlefield 4
While Activision continues to champion its own brand of frenetic, skirmish-based combat, DICE seeks to escalate the spectacle, painting the battlefield as an amphitheatre for the audovisual discord of warfare. EA DICE are keen to reassert the astonishing scale of Battlefield 4 as evidenced by their latest
advert, in which the much-vaunted potential to topple skyscrapers takes centre stage. It might function as a tacit nod to Infinity Ward (i.e. I bet you cant do this in your game), but my word is it impressive watching the monolithic structures fragmentation upon impact is truly awe-inspiring. Moving on from crumbling masonry, Battlefield 4 sees the return of Commander Mode a feature absent from Battlefield 3. Commander Mode gives one player from each team the job of orchestrating his sides troops. Through a top-down perspective, the commander can flag up enemy positions, issue strategies and call in heavy ordnance encouraging co-operation over lone-wolf assaults. Elsewhere, neat features have been implemented across the board. No longer will novice pilots face the ignominy of transforming their teams jet into a smouldering pile of hot steel and regret, as you can now sharpen your skills in solitude by virtue of a training ground mode. In a similarly cute touch, you can now challenge friends to arbitrary, self-defined missions (most kills with an RPG etc.). The Battlelog then tracks the progress of participating players and declares the victor after a 24-hour period. Suffice to say, Battlefield 4 is looking well worth the investment on launch day.